Save a Dance for Me
by EchidnaPower
Summary: With the all new BBA launching with a gala to celebrate the occasion, Tyson finds himself in the uncomfortable position of needing to ask someone to be his date. He has someone in mind, but will his greatest beyblading rival get in his way and turn out to be his greatest rival in love?
1. Chapter 1

**Boy, I'm on a roll huh? The inspiration just keeps flowing, and now I've got another story appearing. This one is intended to have multiple short chapters, and it may or may not be connected to my previous two Beyblade stories. You don't have to read them to understand this story, but it will more than likely draw from certain elements in those stories.**

 **Anyway, a reviewer from one of those stories asked me about love triangles...so, guess we're gonna give this a shot. I don't know how sharp a triangle it'll be, but it'll be a triangle nonetheless. The chapters won't be too long though, so they should go pretty quick. Anyway, enough rambling from me, let it rip!**

 **I own nothing except the story.  
_**

There was never a challenge that Tyson Granger was willing to back down from.

If there was a beyblader who managed to beat him in a match, he would work tirelessly until he was strong enough to come back and obtain a victory of his own.

If there was a problem that needed solving, Tyson would keep coming up with new ideas and trying them until one of them worked and solved things.

There had even been an instance where Hilary Tachibana, the G-Revolution's team manager/cheerleader, challenged Tyson to get an 'A' on their ninth grade biology final for school. In typical Tyson fashion, he took that challenge and studied so hard that somehow he actually managed to get a higher score on the test than even Hilary, which annoyed the brown-haired girl to no end even to this day.

Yes, Tyson not only had the willingness to take on challenges, but he even enjoyed them, and that was what made him the unstoppable beyblader he was today.

But, there comes a time when the unstoppable meets the immovable, and that time was was tonight, as Tyson Granger faced his biggest challenge ever, one so utterly nerve-wracking that even he was scared of what it would require of him.

He had to ask a girl out on a date.

"Chief, you can't do this to me! This is cruel and unusual punishment! At least tell me what it was I did to make you hate me so!"

Kenny sighed and looked meaningfully at his old laptop, where his own bit-beast Dizzi resided, and even without a face, it was almost as if she could be seen rolling her eyes at Tyson's immaturity.

"Kennyyyyyyy!"

"Tyson for gosh sakes, it's not the end of the world!"

The blader's whines turned into growls when Dizzi spoke up from her laptop, and he raised a fist in anger. "I think I liked it better when you _weren't_ around! It's bad enough I hafta hear it from Hilary on a daily basis, but now I've got _another_ girl on my case!"

"I missed you too Tyson." Dizzi deadpanned.

"You don't mean that Tyson, Dizzi's our friend too ya know!" Kenny exclaimed as he held his laptop protectively. "And besides, I told you why you needed to bring a date. The new BBA is holding their inaugural gala and the reigning world champion is expected to be there, but you have to set a good example, and that means taking part in everything that happens there, including the dancing, and you can't dance with yourself!"

"But I _hate_ dancing!"

"I'm not a fan of it either, but my point still stands."

"Well, what about _you_ then huh?" Tyson said pointedly. "Who's _your_ date? Or are you trying to pull a double standard on me?"

Kenny frowned. "For your information, I happen to have a very special someone in mind, not that that's any of _your_ business."

"I'm jealous all of a sudden, you didn't tell me you got a girlfriend Kenny!" Dizzi exclaimed in disappointment. "Now I have to share you."

"Aww," Kenny smiled softly. "Don't worry Dizzi, you and me will always be tight, these past few months without you have been just awful, and I'm so glad you're back."

"You sure know how to sweet-talk a girl Chief," Dizzi sniffled. "It's a good thing laptops can't cry, or I'd short-circuit myself again."

"Ugh, this little reunion is making me wanna barf." Tyson stuck his tongue out in disgust. "She's been back for a week Kenny, get over it already."

"You haven't changed a bit, huh Tyson?" Dizzi sighed.

"Don't worry Dizzi, Tyson's actually changed a lot, even if it doesn't seem like it right now." Kenny smirked and looked in Tyson's direction. "He's just freaking out over the whole date thing."

"I am not bringing a date!" Tyson shouted at the top of his lungs and stomped a foot. "Why is this even that big a deal, it's just a bunch of old dudes standing around sipping champagne and being way too proud of themselves for just existing and being rich. No one would even know I was there, or notice if I was missing."

"You're the world champion Tyson, you're the face of beyblading whether you like it or not. And for the record, those 'rich dudes' you're talking about are a huge reason the BBA is getting a successful reboot, they're sponsoring everything just because they know and trust Mr. Dickinson, and they're doing it all out of the goodness of their hearts!" Kenny sighed again. "You still haven't told me why you're so against the idea of bringing a date at all," the bespectacled boy smirked. "After all, aren't _you_ the one who brags all the time about how girls trip over themselves to meet you since you're the champion?"

"Yeah…but-"

"You've got a point there Chief, all Tyson has to do is go outside and ask who wants to go with him and he'll have a mob of pretty teenage girls begging to be chosen!" Dizzi spoke up.

"Exactly," Kenny's grin grew. "In fact, lemme help you out Tyson, I'll go out right now and find out who wants to-"

"Just stop already!" Tyson shouted and caught the young genius off guard, then he ran his fingers through his navy-blue hair and gave a resigned sigh. "Look, if you must know, there's a reason why I don't wanna ask just any random girl, there's someone…specific I had in mind."

Kenny stared in awe for a moment before he could speak up. "Well, that's fine Tyson," he said. "Then just go and ask whoever that is, we won't judge you or anything."

"That's not what I'm worried about either. It's just…I don't..." Tyson groaned and rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, "Man this is so lame, talking about my feelings like this, I think I can feel my testosterone dropping already."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of Tyson," Dizzi pipped. "Most girls appreciate a man who has a sensitive side."

"Really?" Tyson looked down at the laptop with renewed interest. "So you think that Hilary would-"

"HILARY?!" As soon as Dizzi blurted it out, Tyson covered his mouth with both hands in horror, his eyes as wide as saucers. "How long have I been out Chief?! When did Tyson and Hilary get together?!"

"We're not together!"

But Dizzi just went on as if Tyson had never spoken. "Oh this is just so great! My ship has officially sailed! I always knew there was something there between Tyson and Hilary, let the TyHil story writing commence! Fire up my word processor Chief, I've just been inspired!"

"Don't you start writing fan fiction again," Kenny scolded. "Not only does it slow down your processing speed and clog up your memory, it's just plain creepy to see it all over my desktop."

"Wait," Tyson sweat-dropped and pointed a shaky finger at the laptop. "Dizzi writes stories about me and Hilary together?"

Kenny just chuckled nervously. "Uh well, not _technically."_

"Kenny!"

"She writes stories about you two getting together!" Kenny whimpered and held up his laptop to shield himself from the champion's wrath.

"That's right!" Dizzi exclaimed defiantly. "And I don't have a twinge of guilt over it either! A girl needs her hobbies, you can only play solitaire so many times before you start to go nuts. Besides, my calculations showed that you and Hilary becoming a couple was inevitable! I'm just sad I missed it."

"We are _not_ together!" Tyson huffed and stomped outside to blow off some steam, grumbling to himself as he went along.

"How cute, he's in denial!" Dizzi practically squealed. "Now tell me the truth Chief, I just gotta know!"

"Dizzi-"

"Whoa, did your computer just _talk?!"_ The scratchy sound of Daichi's prepubescent voice reached Kenny's ears, and the young genius gulped nervously as he held his laptop away from the excitable blader. "How'd it do that Chief?! Is it some kinda newfangled program ya cooked up?!"

"And who's this?" Dizzi asked. "Is this the new kid Daichi you've told me all about?"

"Yeah, but I was honestly hoping you two wouldn't meet." Kenny grumbled.

The young blader made a face at that comment. "And just why would that be?"

Kenny chose not to answer. "Never mind. We were just discussing the gala tomorrow night."

"Oh yeah, that party thing." Daichi grinned widely. "Well I for one can't wait to try out all the food that's gonna be there!"

"You do realize that you'll probably have to find a date too right?"

Daichi's drooling abruptly stopped. "A...date?"

"Yeah, as in, finding a girl to go to the gala with."

The redheaded blader blanched and slowly backed away. "Is that right? Well...I guess I better...go and find one! Seeya Chief!" And with that, Daichi zipped out.

"Phew," Kenny sighed. "Thank goodness."

"Creepy computer, writing stories about us, how long has this been going on anyway?" he was so wrapped up in his own bitter thoughts that he failed to notice the person he was about to crash into, until it was already too late.

"Tyson! Watch where you're going! One of these days you're gonna find yourself bumping into a car instead of a person, and that'll be the one time you don't get back up!"

Tyson's eyes widened at the sound of that voice. Only one person could berate him like that.

Hilary Tachibana.

"Well? Don't you have anything to say?" the girl glared at him as she got back to her feet.

Not one to back down, Tyson glared right back and got back to his own feet. "You have eyes too, why didn't you just get out of my way?"

"Because men are supposed to have courtesy towards women, so I _hoped_ that you would move out of the way, but I should've known better."

"Oh yeah?! I've got _plenty_ of courtesy! Maybe you're just too busy ragging on me to see it!"

"Sure Tyson, whatever you say." Hilary walked past the irked blader, ignoring his rage-filled glare as she entered the Granger dojo to see Kenny apparently arguing with Dizzi. "Hey Chief, hey Dizzi."

"Hey girlfriend!" Dizzi exclaimed. "So have you got yourself a date for the gala tomorrow?"

Suddenly Kenny closed the laptop and laughed nervously, confusing Hilary as she raised an eyebrow at his suspicious actions. "Don't worry about her, Dizzi's been a little nosy since she came back online, just trying to catch up on what's been going on!"

"Uh huh…" she narrowed her eyes at the beyblade engineer for a moment, but she soon just shrugged and dismissed it as Kenny being Kenny. "Actually, I just came to let you guys know that the gala is going to be a formal event, so make sure you're wearing your best!"

"Oh great, guess that means I'm gonna have to wear a tie." Tyson groaned and slumped to the ground. "This whole gala thing keeps getting worse."

"Grow up Tyson, seriously." Hilary rolled her eyes and put her attention back on Kenny. "Alright then, so if there's nothing else we need to discuss, then I'm gonna head on home and get ready for tomorrow, and me and Kai will meet you there tomorrow."

With that simple statement, Tyson's head began to spin faster than Dragoon after his strongest launch. "Wh-Kai?!"  
_

 **A/N: Yep...so that's a thing. What happens next? Just stay tuned.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Time for another chapter here, I'm really typing this all up in my spare time, so it comes at irregular intervals. So a lot of reviews came in excited about the love triangle, so hopefully I don't disappoint. I've never really been good at these things, but I'm still gonna give it my to make sure everyone can enjoy this story.**

 **Also, if you want some background on certain events mentioned in this story, I would highly suggest reading both of my other Beyblade stories, "We Are One" and "I Can't Lose You."**

 **That's about all I've got to say, let's just get going to the next chapter. Let it rip!**

 **I own nothing except the story.  
_**

Tyson's outburst had left everyone else in the room speechless, including Dizzi who had been shouting muffled protests through the closed laptop the whole time. Once he realized what he'd done, the champion's face flushed red and he attempted to save face by crossing his arms and looking as nonchalant as he could. "So uh…how come you're goin' with Kai?"

"Why is it any of _your_ business?" Hilary glared at him with her fists on her hips.

Tyson shrugged and tried to look neutral. "Just curious is all."

"Well if you _must_ know, Kai came over and said that since he planned on going to the gala, he decided he'd come and ask me to be his date for the night. Since I didn't exactly want to show up alone, I agreed." Hilary frowned sympathetically. "Besides, after all the time he's spent recovering after his battle with Brooklyn, I figure he could use some time to just relax and have a little fun," she smiled brightly. "And what better way to do that than to attend a fancy dinner party with a beautiful woman?"

"Kai would much rather have a battle with _me_ than stand around socializing, I mean hello, this is _Kai_ we're talking about, remember?" Tyson struck a brooding pose and did his best Kai impression. "I'm Kai, I live to blade, blading is everything that I am, and my life's mission is to defeat the ultimate champion, Tyson."

"You actually weren't doing too bad, until that last part anyway." Kenny chuckled. "But uh…we're happy for you Hilary, really!"

"Thanks Chief!" Hilary smiled at the young boy, then turned her attention to Tyson, who still had his arms crossed and his eyes closed with a sharp frown on his face. "So…Tyson, who are _you_ taking to the gala?"

Tyson's frown deepened and he hunched his shoulders even more as he leaned against the dojo wall. "I'm not going to the gala."

"What?!" Hilary gasped. "But Tyson, you _have_ to go! You're the world champion! You can't just not go to the gala! This is going to kickoff the start of the all new BBA, the thing that we've been working towards for months!"

The navy-haired boy said nothing for a few moments, then he finally opened an eye and grumbled out a response. "I'll think about it."

Hilary sighed and shook her head in disappointment. "Fine, whatever." She turned around to face Kenny. "You'll be there for sure, right Chief?"

"Of course."

"Good." She nodded and then put her attention back on Tyson for a moment, then she sighed again and just walked towards the door. "Guess I'll see you guys tomorrow…maybe." And with that, she was gone.

"Chief, open up this laptop right now or so help me I will crash all of your programs in one fell swoop!"

Kenny gulped and quickly opened up the computer screen, fear flashing in his eyes over Dizzi's threat. "I'm sorry Dizzi, but I couldn't let you go nuts over Tyson and Hilary!"

"Glad you did Chief." Tyson grunted and hunched his shoulders even more, glaring in rage at the door as if it had wronged him. "Clearly I missed my chance, _once again_ Kai finds a way to ruin everything for me, now he's even stealing _Hilary_ from me."

"I…honestly don't know what to say." Kenny stammered as he shifted uncomfortably.

"Ahh, who needs Hilary anyway?!" Tyson suddenly stood up straight with his fists pumped. "I'm the world champion of beyblading! I don't need a date to show up tomorrow, I'll just go, maybe say a few words about blading and whatever, then spend the rest of the night pigging out on fancy mini-wieners! Hilary's not so special, if that bossy, stuck-up snob wants to spend the night with that killjoy Kai, that's _her_ decision! Besides, she's not-"

"Not another word Tyson!" Dizzi's shout cut Tyson off from his rant, and the champion blinked in stunned silence. "I know what you're doing, and quite frankly I'm very disappointed in you!"

"Dizzi…"

"Sorry Chief, I can't listen to this anymore!" Dizzi practically growled. "Listen up Tyson, if you think I'm going to just sit here and let you assault Hilary's character just because your ego is bruised, you've got another thing coming!"

"This coming from the computer who writes stories about us?" Tyson snarked back.

"I know you're hurt, it's so obvious that I don't even need eyes to see it all over your face." Dizzi's tone softened. "You had your heart set on asking Hilary to be your date, and you've spent so much time beyblading that you haven't had the chance to learn what it takes to approach a woman about this sort of thing."

"Well, it's a moot point now. She's going with Kai and it's not like I can just ask her now and change her mind." Tyson sighed and sat on the ground with his legs crossed indian-style. "Man, this tanks."

"I'm…sorry Tyson, I really am." Kenny stood up and placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "Maybe you can ask her out another time, there's nothing stopping you!"

"Yeah…maybe," Tyson mumbled. "Unless Kai puts some sweet moves on her and sweeps her off her feet."

"Don't give up hope champ!" Dizzi exclaimed. "Have faith in Hilary, I don't think she's going with Kai because she has feelings for him, and I'm not convinced Kai is exactly head over heels in love with Hilary either. This seems more like an image thing."

"I guess…"

After a few more moments of awkward silence, Kenny cleared his throat and started walking out. "Well Tyson, I gotta go, I've gotta start getting ready for tomorrow myself…I'll seeya."

"Hey Chief."

Kenny stopped and turned towards the depressed blader. "Yeah?"

"For real, who's your date?"

Kenny exhaled through his nose and hesitated before finally answering. "Just come tomorrow and find out for yourself…if you don't, then maybe I'll tell you after."

"There's a little incentive for you Tyson." Dizzi pipped.

"Yeah…" Tyson relinquished a very small smile, "Guess I'll seeya tomorrow then."

Kenny returned the smile and nodded. "It'll all work out, I'm sure of it." With that said, Kenny walked out and closed the door behind him, leaving Tyson alone with his thoughts.

"Hilary…" Images of the girl began flashing in Tyson's mind. Her smile, her blossomed passion for blading, it was honestly hard to remember the times when they hated each other. They'd become so close in just a couple of years, and thinking about it only darkened his mood further. How had he let her slip through his fingers?

"Is he gone?"

Tyson was brought out of his musings by a small redheaded boy who was poking his head out from behind a sliding door. "Is _who_ gone?"

"Kenny!" Daichi came out from behind the door and walked into the middle of the room, finally sitting down to breathe a sigh of relief. "That was a close one, for a second I thought that I was gonna have to actually get a date or something!"

Tyson grunted and started walking out to get ready for bed.

"Heh heh heh, you're gonna have to get a date mister world champion, and you're probably gonna get stuck with our hag of an assistant manager."

Then Tyson saw red, and he ran at Daichi in a rage, grabbing the boy by his shirt and lifting him up off the ground, much to his victim's shock. "I've had just about enough of you trashing Hilary and giving her a hard time, Daichi!"

"Get your hands offa me Tyson!"

"No! You listen up 'cause I'm only gonna say this _once!_ Hilary goes through a lot of grief just hanging out with us on a daily basis, and she works just as hard as any of us even without a beyblade! After all the time I spent making her miserable in the past, I've done my best to make sure she knows I appreciate what she does for the team, and the least _you_ can do is do the same monkey boy, because she does a lot for you too, and that's _with_ you constantly screeching insults in her ear like a crazed baboon!"

"You've gone nuts! Since when do _you_ care so much about her anyway?!"

For a moment, Tyson stopped his verbal assault as he pondered Daichi's question. Even he wasn't sure when his attitude towards Hilary had changed, in his mind it was almost seamless. Finally, the champion blader just grunted and dropped Daichi to the ground where the boy landed on his butt with an "oof," and then Tyson marched out of the room to get some air.

"Boy," Daichi grumbled as he rubbed his sore rear end. "Girls somehow have a way of ruining everything!"

Back outside, Tyson had sat down on the back porch of the dojo, leaning against one of the slim wooden columns as he looked up into the now night sky as the sun had finally set all the way. "Hilary…when did I stop thinking of you as annoying? When did I really start thinking of you as my friend? And not only that, one of my _best_ friends?" he sighed to himself as his thoughts ran wild in his mind. "I don't know what to do anymore." He pulled out his beyblade and stared at the image of Dragoon. "Wish _you_ could help me out with this pal, with as long as you've existed, you've probably got a whole lotta knowledge you could share…maybe even something about how to handle girls."

"Hey, Tyson."

Tyson was once more brought out of his thoughts, but this time by his grandfather who had come over to see what all the previous commotion was about. "Oh, hey grandpa."

"So," Grandpa sat down next to the blader and looked up into the stars alongside his grandson. "Word on the street is that the world champion beyblader's got the hots for his number one homegirl."

Tyson grunted and gave a half-hearted glare at that. "I dunno _what_ I've got anymore, other than a whole mess of confusion." He sighed and shook his head in exhaustion. "Maybe I should just stick to beyblading."

Grandpa hummed before looking down at his distraught grandson. "Well dawg, that would certainly be a whole lot easier, but ya gotta ask yourself, would you be chill with your homegirl hanging out with one of your peeps instead of you?"

"No, I want her with _me,_ that much I _do_ know."

"Then would you mind a little advice?"

Tyson suddenly sweat-dropped. "Eh… _girl_ advice?"

"Sure!" Grandpa smirked. "Don't you think for one second that this ol' dawg has no skill when it comes to the ladies, after all, your old man didn't exactly come from a catalog, he had to come from _somewhere_ in order for your mom to pop you out!"

Tyson cringed at the implication, but he couldn't argue with the logic. "Well I suppose I've got nothing to lose."

"Yes you do!" Grandpa suddenly got up on Tyson's face and shouted, causing the stunned blader to fall backwards. "You got _plenty_ to lose little man! Your girl _Hilary_ is at stake here, so you better listen up and listen good!"

"Okay okay!"

"That's more like it." Grandpa nodded in satisfaction and crossed his arms, staring back up at the sky. "T-Dawg, dealing with girls is a lot like beyblading."

"Beyblading?"

"Yep," Grandpa looked over at Tyson briefly. "I was gonna use martial arts to make my point, but I figured if I was gonna drill my point into your thick coconut, it'd be best to use terms you're familiar with."

"Fair enough."

"Now then…" he looked back up at the sky. "Dealing with girls is a lot like beyblading, it takes a whole lotta heart, and a whole lotta determination! Sometimes you'll have to take chances, and sometimes they won't work out the way you wanted it to…but when it does, you'll think it's the coolest thing ever, and you'll realize that there's just nothing quite like the feeling of knowing your girl feels the same as you…you feel me bro?"

"Yeah…I think so."

"Tell me Tyson, how do you feel whenever Hilary looks at you?"

"Well that's easy," Tyson smirked. "It all depends on whether or not she's angry. If she's angry, I just get angry right back."

"You're both excitable folk, now how about when she's flashing those pearly whites at you?"

"I guess I never really thought about it before." Tyson pictured a smiling Hilary Tachibana, and a smile slowly spread across his own face without his knowing. "I suppose…that I feel good knowing she's happy with me, or whenever I win a big match and she tells me she's proud, I feel totally energized even when I should feel exhausted."

Grandpa hummed and nodded again. "That tells me all I need to know. My little man has got himself his first real crush, and if you don't mind my saying so, I'm happy to know that little spitfire is the one that caught your eye, no one else can handle you quite like she can."

Tyson grunted with a mild frown, but once again he couldn't argue with his grandfather's logic. He himself had told Hilary that several months ago, and it even resulted in her giving him an impromptu kiss on the cheek.

Then Tyson gasped. "That's it…"

"What's that Tyson?"

"When I started to really care…" Tyson replayed the memory in his mind over and over again, the feeling of her lips against his cheek, the tingling sensation and the warmth he felt from her action. He wanted it again. "Grandpa, what should I do?"

"Looks like a fire's just been ignited." Grandpa smiled. "The first thing we gotta do is make sure you look ready for that event tomorrow evening, and after that, you just make sure you be yourself and let her know exactly what you feel for her, take that risk, just like a beybattle."

"Yeah…just like a beybattle…" Tyson smiled and got back to his feet. "Thanks Grandpa, I think I know what I've gotta do now!"

"You're welcome Tyson."

Tyson nodded and turned to run back in, but then he stopped and looked over his shoulder. "You know Grandpa, I don't say this enough…but I'm really thankful for how you've always been here for me…as far as _I'm_ concerned, you're just as much a member of the team as the others."

"Little man, that means a lot to me." The elderly man teared up a bit. "I love ya T, you're the best grandson an old dawg like me could ever ask for, and I'm proud of you."

Tyson made a sound of awe, and then he went over and embraced his grandfather for the first time in a long time. He was rarely the first person he went to advice for, but this time he really came through.

With Grandpa Granger's words still fresh in his mind, Tyson began coming up with a plan for the upcoming event, and he couldn't help but grin as thoughts of another kiss from Hilary began to swirl. "You just wait Hil, I'm gonna rock your world."  
_

 **A/N: So there's chapter two. Truth be told, writing Grandpa Granger (or Ryu according to the Beyblade Wiki) was tough for me. All that slang makes it hard to come up with viable sentences, what is the balance between slang and regular talk? That's the question that ran through my mind.**

 **But I digress. So now Tyson's got a fresh mindset, but the question now is what is he planning? That's gonna have to wait for a while longer unfortunately, so hang tight while I continue writing things out. Truth be told, even I'm not sure where this is going to go. Like most of my stories, they seem to write themselves.**

 **Hope you're enjoying so far, and if you are, leave a review and tell me your thoughts! Until next time, let it rip!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Welcome back to another chapter of this story, now we're gonna focus in on Hilary and Kai a little more. Honestly, I've said this many times before, and it's once again showing itself to be true...this story is writing itself. Most of this last part of the chapter, I didn't initially plan, it just kinda got started and I couldn't stop.**

 **Isn't that the truth for a lot of writers though?**

 **In any case, here's the third chapter, hope you all enjoy, LET IT RIP!**

 **I own nothing except the story.  
_**

The night of the inaugural BBA gala arrived, and the soon to be 16-year old Hilary Tachibana could hardly believe how excited she was for the return of the most respected beyblade organization ever to be founded.

It still shocked her to some extent. In just a little less than two years, Hilary had gone from despising the sport of beyblading to not only becoming the assistant manager of two world champion teams, but even starting to learn how to blade for herself after growing tired of sitting on the sidelines.

In all the years she'd spent trying to make a name for herself, being the perfect student in school, winning multiple consecutive titles as class president, none of that could even come close to comparing to the rush she felt just being a part of a greater whole with the Bladebreakers and G-Revolution.

Oh sure, she still prided herself on working hard and making sure she fulfilled her responsibilities outside of blading, but what once was everything she identified with as an individual now paled in comparison to the thrill and excitement she experienced on a daily basis with Tyson and the rest of the gang.

Tyson.

The girl sighed as she brushed her shoulder-length hair in preparation for the eventful evening. Out of all the members of the team, Tyson was the one who could get the biggest rise out of her, both in a good and a bad way. His temper and his ego had a way of getting on her last nerve a lot, but on the other side of the spectrum, if someone ever came against her, he would be the first one to come to her defense, and he had the tendency to do things that could only be classified as unbelievably sweet.

For some time, she had considered leaving the G-Revolution after the Brooklyn incident, not wanting to watch her best friends get killed should an even bigger threat arise…but once he found out, it was Tyson who managed to push past her inner barriers and flimsy excuses to get to the heart of the problem.

Not only that, he'd even fulfilled his promise to teach her to beyblade so that she could help in times of crisis rather than just stand back and watch if a matter of life and death came up. She still wasn't necessarily a good blader, especially compared to the world champion, but at least now her launches actually went where she wanted them to rather than bouncing around causing an uproar.

She had to swear never to take a beyblade without permission again after that little fiasco in the bus a few months back.

But what really surprised her – and at times even infuriated her – was how patient Tyson was being with her. Anyone who knew Tyson would instantly admit that his level of patience was low, some might even say a kindergartner was better at waiting for something than he was, so she'd gone in expecting Tyson to get annoyed with her after the fifth or sixth failed attempt at whatever he was teaching her.

But that's not what happened.

As their lessons started, Tyson showed her the techniques and did his best to explain what she was doing wrong if something didn't go as planned, and he never really got angry with her. In fact, it was those past few months that a spark grew into a flame in her heart, as Tyson had never treated her with more patience and kindness than when he was teaching her his life's passion.

But was that all about beyblading, or was it because he was teaching her?

Hilary had never considered Tyson as potential boyfriend material, in fact there was a time when she would take any one of the guys – like the ever-cool and socially responsible Kai, who not only had training in proper etiquette, but also had a background of wealth that could offer instant financial stability.

Not that money was important to Hilary, but she was certainly not foolish enough to attach herself to someone who would have her living in the poor house within a week. Kai was definitely smarter than that.

"Hilary, there's a very handsome young man here to see you!"

Speaking of Kai…

"Tell him I'm almost done Mom!" Hilary got up from her desk and went over to a mirror to give herself the once-over.

She'd spent hours preparing herself for this formal event. Between applying foundation, blush and a faint tint of blue eyeshadow, she could honestly say she'd never put more effort into her appearance before tonight.

She'd put on a strapless, dark blue A-line dress that went down to her ankles, along with a simple pearl necklace that landed above the sweetheart neckline of her dress.

The girl smiled at her reflection and decided to pull it all together with a couple of coats of light pink lip gloss before slipping on some silver heels and spraying a few spritzes of her favorite perfume. "Ming Ming, eat your heart out." She began to make her way out of the room, but she stumbled a little and was forced to regain her balance. "Note to self, no gloating while in heels."

As she finally got a rhythm going in her walk, she made her way down the stairs and into the hallway leading to her front door…and she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Kai standing there in the doorway.

"Good evening Hilary."

"Uh…good evening…" the girl could barely get the words out. If she didn't know better, she'd say she wasn't even looking at Kai, but there was no mistaking the silver-haired blader for anyone else…she'd just never seen him looking so…handsome before.

The young man had removed his signature blue face paint, and was now dressed in a dark grey tuxedo and pants with black leather shoes. Then as she slowly made her over to him, he gave a signature Kai smirk and pulled a pink rose out from behind his back. "Consider this a thank you for allowing me to be your escort for the evening."

Hilary just stared in awe at the flower before slowly reaching out to take it from him. "I...I don't know what to say. Kai, you look..."

"Like anything but a beyblader right?"

Kai's joke caused a giggle to bubble up from the girl's chest, and she smirked back at him as his rarely seen sense of humor gave her a sense of normality. "I was going to say handsome, but now that you mention it, the lack of face paint and unnecessarily long scarf wrapped around your neck _does_ makes you seem like a _normal_ human being."

The silver-haired blader chuckled and put his hands in his pockets before looking Hilary in the eye. "Well if you don't mind my saying so, you're looking pretty good yourself, blue is a good color for you."

"N-No...I don't mind." All of a sudden Hilary found herself unable to meet Kai's gaze, as she blushed and tried to focus on the pink rose he'd given her instead. "So...shall we get going?" Kai's response was to gesture for her to walk by him and out the door. "Bye Mom!" Hilary called out. "Don't wait up!" She then walked out, but soon stopped again when she saw what their ride was for the night. "No way...a limousine?! I've never ridden in one of _those_ before!"

"The novelty wears off after a while."

"Well tonight the novelty's gonna be in full force!" Hilary giggled childishly and only just barely remembered she was wearing heels, forcing her to take her time reaching the door, and once again she was surprised by the appearance of an older man who came around the side of the limo to open the door. "Good evening Miss Hilary, it is my distinct honor to finally meet you, Master Kai has told me much of you."

"O-Oh..." Once again Hilary found herself blushing, as she smiled bashfully and made her way into the limousine when the driver gestured for her to enter. When Kai entered moments later and the door was closed, Hilary took a deep breath and fought to slow her heartbeat. _"Relax, no need to freak, this is considered normal for Kai, so this is just all part of the experience."_ But to spite her internal reasoning, Hilary just couldn't find it in herself to calm down. Never had she been treated with such reverence, platonic or not. "So..." she started to say.

"Listen Hilary," Kai cut her off gently. "I realize all this might be a bit overwhelming for you, since you're not exactly used to the whole 'snobby rich kid' lifestyle-"

"What? Noooo, I'm cool!"

The squeak in Hilary's voice told Kai otherwise, and he chuckled slightly before continuing. "Well in any case, just sit back and enjoy the ride. Once we get to the gala, all of our friends will be there, and things will seem a lot more normal."

"Normal..." Hilary hummed and looked down at her feet for a moment before looking back at Kai. "That word's been used a lot tonight huh?"

Kai nodded. "Makes sense, none of this is our usual M.O., we're usually dressed in our blader gear and sweating up a storm while training, so fancy outfits and upper-crust mannerisms aren't exactly something that can be brushed off as _normal."_

"But for you it is."

Kai sighed before speaking back up. "While I appreciate the level of financial freedom my family's background affords me, it does come with its own set of traps, if that makes sense. You know the Majestics team?"

"Um, those are the bladers from Europe right? Kenny told me all about them a while back."

The silver-haired blader nodded again. "That's right, and the Barthez Battalion knocked them out of the European qualifying tournament last year with their dirty tricks. Anyway, when we first met them during our first stint as the Bladebreakers, Tyson and the others all saw them as snobby rich kids with attitudes, and to be honest they were right. They flaunted their wealth, saw themselves as superior...in the end they turned out alright, but we weren't exactly given a good first impression."

"So what's that got to do you with Kai? You're not like that."

"I know, and that's the problem."

"Huh?"

Kai lowered his head and closed his eyes. "You already know that beyblading isn't just a game to me, it's so much more than that. Besides my relationship with Dranzer, it's the only thing I had to escape the 'rich kid' life. Set schedules, fancy prep schools...galas where you mingle with the power elite," he scoffed at the irony. "Beyblading is the life _I_ chose, the _one thing_ that I have control over. That's what I want to be normal, not _all this,"_ he gestured around them, at the limo and their outfits and everything.

"I never knew..." Hilary hummed and looked down at the floor with a frown before looking at Kai once more. "Is...that why you asked me to be your date tonight? To help you feel more normal?"

"No." Kai looked Hilary in the eye, and he could tell that she was shocked by his answer. "I asked you to be my date because I respect you, and I knew that I would be allowed to be myself around you. I don't show it that often, but I _do_ enjoy being around you guys, I'm trying to get better at showing it. I spent my whole childhood in Boris's clutches, and before that I was taught to never lose control of yourself because it's improper. It's molded who I am, but that doesn't mean I don't have fun. I just...show it differently than say, Tyson, who jumps up and down like a four year old whenever he's excited."

Hilary giggled at that. "He _does_ do that, doesn't he?"

Kai chuckled. "As much as I resented Tyson and the others when we first got paired up by Mr. Dickinson, I've realized since then that joining the Bladebreakers was the best thing that ever happened to me. Then when _you_ joined the team, the dynamic changed a bit, but you were able to offer some new perspectives that us guys weren't able to see at first, and you made us all stronger that way. For that, and for everything else that you do, I have the utmost respect and admiration for you."

"Thank you Kai." Hilary found herself blushing again, only this time she welcomed it as his words warmed her heart. "You didn't have to admit that to me, but I'm glad you did."

"Well you're welcome Hilary." Kai nodded. "Let's just have a good time tonight, alright?"

"You got it!"

The limousines fell into a comfortable silence as the two teens awaited their arrival to the formal event, completely unaware that back at Hilary's house, another meeting was currently taking place.

"Mrs. Tachibana? Is Hilary still here?"

"I'm sorry, she left with Kai about ten minutes ago."

"Rats! Thanks for the heads up!" the visitor bolted down the driveway, where a taxi was still waiting for him to get back in. "To the BBA gala dude, and step on it!" the taxi accelerated towards the intended destination, and Tyson Granger sat back and tried to block out the constant whining of the clearly uncomfortable Daichi, and his own grandfather's attempts to get the preteen to chill out and 'be cool' about 'cleanin' up good.' _"I hope Dizzi was right about Hilary...now that I know what I know...I don't think I could handle losing her, not before I get the chance to try at least."_

Tyson closed his eyes and tried to relax until they arrived, and images of Hilary flashed through his mind all the way there. _"Please Hilary, I know I messed up, but don't fall for Kai before I get a chance to tell you how I feel."  
__

 **A/N: And there you have it, a lot of the KaiHil fans reading this story will hopefully enjoy this, I've never really understood the pairing so this was the best I could do given what I understand of both their personalities. You guys be the judge.**

 **So the next chapter will be the party...but now I ask you all for help. I've done research on places to hold formal events in Japan, and I get a lot of hotels, but I'm kinda OCD about certain details, and no matter how hard I look, I can't seem to find any information on exactly where Tyson lives. I know it's in Japan somewhere, but "somewhere" doesn't cut it for me. I need some solid idea so I can get the geography and details correct.**

 **With that said, if anyone can give me some idea, or maybe some fan theories about where exactly everyone is holed up, then let me know. Get ready for a flood of characters in the next chapter. Until next time, let it rip!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Bleh...feel like crap today, but don't have time to be sick, must be well! I know, it's been a long time since I updated anything, let alone this story. And I know, I have a lot of people telling me about AAML D &P, but that takes a lot longer to do and I have a lot of college work bogging me down, and that's not even mentioning my other real life responsibilities.**

 **I do feel bad about leaving everyone hanging for so long, I do, but some things have to take priority. In any case, I have this brief chapter to hopefully hold some of my readers over for a while. I also know Pokeshipping Week is coming up again...I'm gonna try to have stories ready guys, I am, but it all comes down to time.**

 **And how I feel, because right now I feel like crap. xP**

 **But anyway, enough chit chat. There is one anonymous review to address.**

 **wingsofpegesus: I'm gonna update now friend, hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **Alright, that's all I got for now. The disclaimer that I own nothing but the story goes here, and without further ado, LET IT RIP!  
_**

Upon arrival at the hotel the gala was being held at, the driver quickly went around to open the door for the two teens, and Hilary's eyes widened in awe at the sight as she made her way out of the limo. "Unbelievable! How did Mr. Dickinson manage to pull this off when he could only afford to build a small shack under the bridge near Tyson's house?"

"Affording it wasn't the issue," Kai responded. "The shack is supposed to be symbolic, it's his way of telling the world that he wants the sport of beyblading to go back to being just that: a simple sport."

"Makes sense." Then Hilary noticed that Kai was offering her his arm, and the girl smirked and accepted the gesture. "I had no idea you were such a gentleman Kai."

"Don't tell Tyson, I'll never hear the end of it from him."

Hilary scoffed at that. "Nonsense. He could stand to learn a few lessons in etiquette, maybe you can teach him a thing or two."

It was Kai's turn to scoff. "Even if I were willing to go through with that nightmare, Tyson would sooner give up blading forever than take lessons of _any_ kind from _me."_

"Oh I dunno about that," Hilary hummed. "I'm sure there are _lots_ of things Tyson would rather do, but give up blading? No way."

They finally made it inside the elegant building, and while Hilary looked around in awe, Kai kept an outwardly cool calm about him, refusing to give any indication that he found Hilary's amazement…amusing.

Finally they made it into the area where the gala was being held, and the first one that greeted them upon entering was none other than their good friend Mr. Dickinson, dressed to the nines as usual. "Kai, and Hilary too! It's so good to see you again!" the man said as he shook their hands. "I must say my boy, you gave us all a scare, but I'm glad to see you've managed to pull through!"

"It'll take more than some demonic bit-beast to keep _me_ from blading." Kai said with a smirk. "I have to admit, you've done a great job getting the BBA up and running again."

"Well that means a lot coming from you Kai, thank you." The elderly man smiled, then his face morphed into a mischievous expression. "Now, if you don't mind my asking, from one beyblade fan to another, have you come to a decision about which team you're planning on being on this season?"

Kai's smirk faded. "I haven't decided yet." He said shortly.

"Oh, well then," Mr. Dickinson cleared his throat awkwardly and quickly put a smile back on his mustachioed face. "I'm sure that whatever decision you make will be the right one. Please, go in and enjoy the event, there are plenty more people already inside for you to greet!"

"I'm sure there are." Kai merely gave a curt nod and led Hilary away from the BBA founder, his mind swirling in a dark place as the man's words echoed in his thoughts.

"Kai?"

The silver-haired blade blinked as a female voice reached his ears. He had forgotten he had a lady on his arm. "What is it Hilary?"

"What was _that_ all about?"

Kai scowled at the question, but then he and Hilary were distracted by the approach of two very familiar individuals, and Kai let out a sigh of relief he hadn't even realized that he'd been holding. Never had he been happier to see Max and Ray.

"Hey guys!"

"Good to see you made it!"

"Max, Ray!" Hilary unlinked her arm from Kai's to give friendly embraces to her other friends, who were more than happy to reciprocate the gesture. While Ray was dressed in his usual Hong-Kong styled blader gear, Max had dressed up for the occasion, wearing a white button-up shirt and a beige suit jacket with a dark brown tie. "It's so good to see you guys again, how've you been?"

"It's been an eventful few months, we'll say that." Max said as he exchanged a knowing grin with Ray, who returned the exact same expression.

But Hilary didn't understand the meaning behind those grins, and needless to say she wasn't happy with being kept out of the loop. "Alright, what's with the grins you two?" she said with a raised eyebrow and her hands on her hips.

"Can I just say you look great tonight Hilary?"

Hilary smirked. "Nice try Maxie, the compliment is appreciated but that doesn't answer my question. Why do you two look like cats that just got anyway with eating canaries?"

"Well…"

"Ray!"

"Max!"

Hilary's eyes widened and her jaw dropped in shock when two young ladies approached her two blading friends and paired up with them, one was a familiar face…while the other was slightly less familiar.

"I don't believe it!" Hilary gave a disbelieving laugh. "I mean, Ray, you and Mariah I expected, the attraction between you two was so obvious that I could practically _see_ the tether connecting you…but Max, I never would have guessed you'd pair up with _her!"_

"Nice to see you again too." Said a smirking and all too pleased with herself Mariam of the Saint Shields.

Mariah was, like her apparent date for the evening, dressed in her usual outfit, but Mariam was decked out in a dark red dress that showed off just the smallest hint of cleavage and ended just above her knees, while the heels she wore gave her an extra three inches on Max that she didn't need.

"Oh!" Hilary blushed slightly in embarrassment after she realized her statement sounded condescending. "Don't get me wrong, I think it's _great_ that you two are together! It's just…so unexpected."

"I didn't see it coming either to be honest," Max chuckled as he used his free arm to rub the back of his neck. "But, I always thought Mariam was really pretty, and when I saw her walking down the street in New York a couple months ago, I couldn't help but go and say hi…and, well, the rest is history."

"Flattery will get you _nowhere_ Maxie." Mariam smirked down at her shorter date before turning her attention back to the others. "In all honesty though, it really was sweet of him to track me down like that. I was actually looking for him on Ozuma's orders, he wanted me to check on Max and Draciel after the aftermath of the whole Zeus debacle."

"Leave it to Max to make your job easier."

The others gave a slight glare to Kai when he spoke up, Mariah's was a bit harsher though, as she still held a small grudge towards the star Russian blader for his actions several years ago with Black Dranzer.

"Don't worry about it guys." Max shrugged with a smile. "Kai's right y'know? Common sense would've said to stay away, after all, we haven't had the best experience with the Saint Shields in the past," he glanced at Mariam. "No offense."

"None taken," Mariam then glared over at Kai. "Although I would have expected a little more gratitude after we took you in and let you recover in our place after your battle with Brooklyn and Zeus."

"I _am_ grateful," Kai replied. "That doesn't mean I'm ready to blindly trust your group yet. You tried to steal Dranzer from me more than once, and that isn't something I'm willing to let go of easily." But then Kai's eyes widened slightly, and he glanced down at his pocket before sighing and looking Mariam in the eyes. "Fine. I'm sorry for what I said, thank you for helping us out."

The others looked at him in confusion. "That was a…strange change of attitude there Kai." Hilary stammered.

Kai just scoffed. "Let's just say that Dranzer is trying to get me to…open up more."

 _"Dranzer_ is?" Ray asked. "You mean…Dranzer _talked_ to you?"

Kai didn't get the chance to answer, as another voice caught their attention. "It wouldn't be the first time something like that has happened if it's true, Tyson has told me that he's actually spoken to Dragoon in the past."

"Kenny?!"

The group was shocked, even Kai couldn't keep the surprise off his face. The boy had arrived in a very dashing tuxedo that seemed to add three years to his age, despite the fact that he was still dragging Dizzi and her laptop around. But it wasn't Kenny that had the group so stunned.

"What? Do I have something on my face?"

"Emily? You're Kenny's date?!" Max blurted out in shock.

The orange-haired girl smirked and fixed her attention on her stunned teammate. "What's it to you Maxie?" she said, drawing a frown from Max's date.

"I have to admit, even _I_ was shocked when I found out!" Dizzi's voice echoed from the laptop. "But don't get me wrong, I approve of the choice!"

"Dizzi, hush!" Kenny hissed in embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it Chief." Emily grinned down at Kenny. "I think Dizzi and I are going to get along just fine, we both have impeccable taste after all…although, I won't exactly be disappointed when you hit your growth spurt either."

Mariam then replaced her brief frown with a sneaky grin of her own as she glanced down at Max. "I know what you mean Emily, I mean, someone needs to get this guy some protein, stat!

Both Kenny and Max's faces turned tomato red as they laughed sheepishly, drawing chuckles from the others as they watched the two couples interact. "It wouldn't be so bad if those heels of yours weren't so high." Max managed to mumble out.

"Oh relax, I'm just teasing." Mariam replied with a dismissive wave, then she turned her attention back to Emily. "That's an interesting dress you've got on Emily, where'd you get it?"

Emily's eyes lit up behind her glasses at the blue-haired girl's question. "I didn't get it from anywhere, I made it myself." She said with pride. "I know it doesn't look like much right now," it was a true statement, Emily's dress seemed to be made of simple fabric, and the color was just plain white, reaching all the way down to her ankles and flaring out all the way down so that it was shaped like a cone. "But when I press this!" Emily pulled a small black box out of nowhere and pressed the button on it, and suddenly her dress lit up with light, the colors periodically changing, impressing the others and bringing wide grins to their faces, and even heart eyes in Kenny.

"She's a genius after Kenny's own heart," Dizzi commented. "This girl's gonna have him wrapped around her little finger after tonight."

"That's amazing Emily, how'd you do it?!" Max exclaimed.

"Fiber optics," the girl genius said with a grin. "It took a while to put it all together, but I think it was worth it."

"You went through all this trouble…for me…" Kenny was fighting to hold back his emotions as his lips trembled. "I'm…I'm touched Emily, I really am, it's incredible!"

The group just watched in amusement as Kenny continued to shower Emily in praise, which eventually got the normally stoic female to blush and even let out a giggle.

"Well, I guess the gang's all here." Ray finally spoke up.

"Not everyone," Hilary sighed as her cheerful expression fell. "Tyson isn't here yet."

"Think he couldn't find a date and he's embarrassed to show up?" Max asked.

"Hello BBA!" everyone in the room turned towards the stage at the sound of the mic'd up voice, and it took everything in their power to not hold a group face-palm at the boy on stage. "It's your three-time beyblading world champion here, and I'd just like to give a special shout out to the G-Revolution's assistant manager, Hilary Tachibana, for all the hard work she does for the team. You rock Hilary!"

The small group of friends glanced towards Hilary, and they saw her face as red as a beet and her fists clenching and unclenching at her sides, looking like she was ready to murder Tyson for calling her out like that.

"Tyson, embarrassed?" Ray sweat-dropped as he watched Hilary spontaneously combust. "I think in a minute, Tyson is going to be dead."  
_

 **A/N: What even is this chapter? xD I guess I was just trying to set up the scene for the next few chapters. We've moved to the gala, and now you know everyone's dates! Ray is with Mariah, no shocker there...I won't lie, I just couldn't come up with outfit ideas for them, so that's why they're dressed like normal lol. Max is with Mariam, and he's still shorter than her, and yep, Kenny's date is Emily, the two braniacs hooked up. We'll get more background on them eventually, maybe in other stories, I've kinda got this idea for a whole personal universe based on these bladers, so I'm getting the impression that - unless I say otherwise - all of my Beyblade stories are gonna connect.**

 **But I digress, so what's going on with Kai? What isn't he saying to anyone? And as for Tyson, what does he think he's doing?! Is he trying to get Hilary to kill him instead of date him?! xD**

 **Oh, and if anyone is curious about Emily's dress, go to YouTube and look up "Fiber optic dress," it's really quite fascinating and I thought it would be perfect for Emily who does like to show off lol. So that's all for now, guess we'll see what happens next...even I don't know what's gonna happen next lol. Until next time! Please review!**


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